The artist formerly known as Prince's wife
By JUDITH WOODS
Last updated at 19:57pm on 16th December 2006

Mayte Garcia, who first met Prince at the tender age of 17.

Mayte Garcia was muse and wife to Prince until tragedy pushed them apart. Now an actress and fashion ambassador, she reveals the details of their strange life together – including the fact that she was never allowed to phone the pop star - even when they were married.

When Mayte Garcia married Prince in 1996, the singer bought his young wife a rambling hacienda in Marbella, overlooking the sea.

Built in the style of a fairytale palace, it was painted white and bordered with peach, festooned with mirrors and even boasted its own hair salon. ‘Oh, I never used the salon,’ says Mayte hastily, as if to imply otherwise - even a decade on - would be a tremendous breach of trust. ‘I always went out if I needed my hair done. The salon wasn't for me, it was for my husband. Prince needed his space.’

There's no trace of irony in her voice at such a peculiar arrangement, but then her rather claustrophobic relationship with rock's most eccentric showman was pretty much characterised by its peculiarities. ‘I wasn't allowed to call him, ever. Even when we were married; I had to wait for him to call me. I've no idea why, he never actually said,’ she says, an expression of retrospective puzzlement briefly clouding her flawless features. ‘Hey, maybe I should try it now, and see what happens?’

She then bursts into peals of musical laughter at such an outlandish idea, and I think it's fair to assume she never will make that call. Even six years after their divorce, which was precipitated by the tragic loss of their newborn baby, she still abides by the unwritten rules of Prince's parallel universe.

Now aged 32, Mayte (pronounced My-teh) is a head-turning beauty, with a full, sensuous mouth, skin the shade of dark honey and a mass of lustrous hair. Born in America to middle-class Puerto Rican parents, at 5'4'' she's two inches taller than her former husband, and possesses the toned, sinuous curves of a dancer.

Although she once harboured ambitions to be a singer, she is now enjoying a burgeoning career as an actress.

Today, she has just flown in from Morocco, where she's filming a movie with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, and despite a hectic schedule, looks effortlessly elegant in a taupe jersey lace top, wide-legged flannel trousers and precipitous wedge heels.

Her clothes are by Pinko, a hip Italian brand that has noticed Mayte’s star is in the ascendant, and accordingly made her its fashion ambassador.

It’s a testament to Mayte’s luminosity that she’s in elite company; supermodels Naomi Campbell and Elle Macpherson have also featured in advertising campaigns as the face of Pinko.

‘For a while after my marriage ended I wondered about changing my name, because I didn’t want to be forever known as Prince’s ex-wife, but I decided not to,’ she says. ‘I think I’m finally starting to be recognised as someone who’s creative in my own right, which is wonderful.’

It’s little wonder that the artist formerly known as her husband casts long shadows over her life. He was twice her age when they met; aged just 16, she became his schoolgirl muse, then two years later, his lover, for whom he penned the exquisitely melancholy love song The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.

As a bellydancer in his band, on stage their chemistry was electrifying. Off stage, his svengali influence extended to dictating the clothes she dressed in and how she wore her hair.

And while he actively encouraged her creative input into his work, she was never permitted to contact him, to be late, to be anything other than enthusiastic about the gruelling work schedule that encroached into every area of their life, including their honeymoon.

‘It was a strange relationship, but great. Yes, he was a bit controlling, but I was young, I'd never had a boyfriend so I had no idea how it was supposed to be,’ says Mayte, who, despite radiating intelligence, neverthless talks about her ex-spouse with a Stepford Wife (or rather, Stepford divorcee) air of bright casualness, as though it were perfectly normal to have your husband pick out your shoes for the day. Back then, as a teenager, she was mesmerised.

‘Prince is an incredible perfomer on stage, but when you meet him he's not at all aloof; he's funny and charming and very aware. Now I know other men, I can see how in tune he is with women, it's the way he notices every detail about you. ‘He'll comment on your hair, or acknowledge a new pair of earrings and when he looks at you he makes you feel like you're the centre of his universe - that's very beguiling.’

The story of how Prince fell for Mayte is suitably bizarre. Mayte's father was a pilot in the US military and her mother was an academic and linguist, with a passion for dance, which she passed on to her daughter.

As a result, Mayte was trained in both ballet and bellydance, performing professionally from the age of eight.

The family followed her father's postings abroad, and it was in Germany that they all went to a Prince concert. ‘My dad showed him a video of me dancing and Prince asked to meet me.’ They were invited backstage by the roadies, and it was there that Mayte came face to face with her future husband.

‘My first thought was “Wow, he's really - small!” It came as a surprise, because he's got such a huge presence on stage,’ she says, smiling at the memory. ‘When I mentioned I could flip coins on my belly, he called everyone into the room to watch.’

Prince, then 32, was so taken with Mayte, he asked permission to contact her. This he did, for almost two years. He would send her his new songs, and in return, receive feedback and videotapes of Mayte dancing to them. He would also call her every other day. ‘Looking back, it was a bit surreal,’ she says, with masterful understatement. ‘I didn't tell many of my friends because they wouldn't have believed me. It was all quite innocent, but quite intense.’

Then, when she was 17, Prince invited her to visit him at his Paisley Park home in Minnesota to record a song. She never went home again.

‘Prince was very protective of me and my father was happy to place me in his care. I was given my own apartment and within weeks I was off on tour to Australia and the Far East as a dancer in his band,’ she says. ‘He would tear pictures out of magazines and put together a whole look for me on stage; Vivienne Westwood, then Versace.

'He was very precise about what he wanted, in private too, because it was all work. Being with him was like being at the centre of a 24-hour creative machine; if we weren't on stage, we were rehearsing, if we weren't rehearsing we were in the studio. I've heard people say he's demanding, but I never gave him reason to be demanding, I was always on point. I loved it and that has shaped my own work ethic now.’

Just over a year later, their professional relationship evolved into something more intimate. Yet for all her youthful malleability, Mayte is adamant there was more to it on her side than mere hero-worship. ‘I loved him,’ she says, simply.

‘Now, I'm a completely different person, but back then I lived his life and was happy to do so. I didn't really express myself as a person as much as I could have, but I think that comes with age. What was important to me was that he saw me as an equal musically and artistically. I could say “I don't like that song” and he would listen to me.’

Their relentless 24/7 work ethic notwithstanding, there were quieter, domestic moments too. Mayte and Prince would go to the movies, or bowling together. She would cook vegetarian food grown in the greenhouse they built together, he would wear a sweater.

A sweater? There's something truly ludicrous about the idea of strutting, spangled, purple-suited Prince, dressed in something as crushingly mundane as a jumper.

‘It would be a Versace sweater, but never jeans,’ she says, springing to his sartorial defence, with an indulgent smile. ‘There is a downtime side to Prince, but despite these reality TV-obsessed days, he just chooses not to show it, which I respect him for.’

On stage, Prince has always played up his sexual magnetism and virility. But at the suggestion there might have been outre antics in her husband's legendary mirrored-ceiling bedroom, Mayte's eyes widen with a mixture of open-mouthed horror and amusement.

‘I think I'll play amnesia on that one,’ she giggles. ‘Yeah, we had sex, sure, but that mirrored bedroom wasn't used too much. The kinkiest stuff we ever did was on stage - that's where I had the handcuffs.’

The couple were delighted when Mayte became pregnant in early 1996. They married in the summer, live on the internet, and Prince marked the occasion by composing the song Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife.

But when their son was born, a month prematurely, he was diagnosed with Pfeiffer syndrome, a rare disease which causes the baby's skull to harden earlier that it should, compressing the brain.

He died a week later. Yet the couple went on Oprah Winfrey a week later and spoke of their son being alive. ‘We believed he was going to come back, that souls come back. We didn't want to acknowledge he was gone, it was our way of grieving,’ says Mayte. ‘Losing a baby is a terrible thing. Some couples are brought closer together after the loss of a child, others are driven apart; in our case the latter happened.’

Mayte and Prince drifted apart, separating two years later and finally divorcing in 2000. There was, she says, no great falling out, no rows. Prince’s response to bereavment was to throw himself into his work, leaving Mayte to deal with her emotions alone.

There’s a sadness, but also a resignation when she talks of the split. The marriage was over, and I knew it. But I hate the fact I’m divorced. I never wanted to be a divorcee, although I’ve accepted that’s the situation.’

There’s no animosity between Mayte and Prince, and although they’re not in touch - unless he calls her, obviously - she intends to see him in concert soon, and go backstage and catch up. ‘I’m now very wary of ever getting married again, because I believe marriage should be for life. Prince did remarry, he’s getting a divorce now.’

Bruised by the failure of her marriage, Mayte ricocheted into a textbook rebound romance; she dated - in fact became engaged to - notorious hellraising rocker Tommy Lee, ex-husband of Pamela Anderson.

‘He was the complete opposite of what I'd experienced, Tommy was wild, a walking adult-kid, which was fun. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes, but we were so never going to get married,’ she laughs. ‘It was a cool time, a year of madness. He had my lips tattooed on his neck, I even got a tattoo on my foot, the Chinese symbol for dance.

'But I changed him, because I wouldn't allow craziness at our house and I made him stay home - I'm a party pooper, so he lost a lot of friends because of that. I knew all along he was still in love with Pamela, and when we broke up, after a year and a half, I actually told him they needed to get back together. But we still love each other and we're very dear friends.’

Currently single and living in Los Angeles, Mayte admits to feeling broody - ‘I've got four dogs, what does that tell you?’ - and hopes to settle down and have children over the next five or six years. But in the meantime, her Hollywood career is taking off.

After appearances on television shows including Nip/Tuck, she landed a role as a female firefighter in a family film, Firehouse Dog, which is released early next year. Now she's working on Charlie Wilson's War, the real-life story of a US congressman who fought to fund the Afghan rebels' battle against the Russians.

Mayte plays the part of a big-haired 80s bellydancer who becomes involved with Tom Hanks. Bearing in mind that this is a woman who has hung out with Madonna, Elton John and virtually every other music luminary of our times, she nonetheless fizzes with an ingenue’s excitement when she talks about the movie business in general and her co-stars in particular.

‘I’ve been working with amazing actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Tom Hanks - he’s so friendly and warm, introducing himself and putting everyone at their ease,’ she says. ‘Before we began filming, I did a table read-through with the whole cast and I couldn’t believe how beautiful Julia Roberts is. She wasn’t wearing any make up and she looked so fabulous.’

Other forthcoming projects include Mayte’s appearance in the US network spoof cop series, Psyche and an independent film, Ego, a psychological drama in which she plays the wife of the lead character.

'As far as her acting is concerned, artistic expression is the spur, not fame. ‘I love playing a character and acting out emotions,’ she says. ‘I get to say stuff I would never say to anybody in real life, do things I'd never do, and then walk away from it afterwards, having created something amazing.’[Edited 12/22/06 20:48pm]

Let's go down 2 the holy river,
If we drown then we'll be delivered.
If we don't then we'll never see the light.
If U die before U try,
U'll have 2 come back and face the light.
When U believe it, U got a good reason 2 cry.

That was probably one of the most revealing (in an interesting and informative fashion) interview from an ex of Prince that I have read. She talks about their relationship in a very dignified way. Glad she is enjoying success.

I was very excited to read this interview! I have been waiting to hear her side of the story for a long time. It was heart breaking and refreshing at the same time. She's a strong lady, and I wish her the best of luck.

There’s no animosity between Mayte and Prince, and although they’re not in touch - unless he calls her, obviously - she intends to see him in concert soon, and go backstage and catch up. ‘I’m now very wary of ever getting married again, because I believe marriage should be for life. Prince did remarry, he’s getting a divorce now.’

Also, WTF??? She couldn't call him even when they were married? LOL! OK Princey. I can see him changing cell phones daily.

Prince and mayte got married "live on the internet"...why have I never heard this before?

Because the interviewer made it up.

They got married on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14th) 1996 - it was hyped that they would get married in Paris, but they got married in Chanhassen instead. And most definitely not on the internet, although it was the same day that Prince's first website, The Dawn, was opened. The Dawn website included the wedding program (although perhaps not that day - I didn't see the site until the Summer).

Incidentally, the timing that the interviewer gives also assumes that Mayte was pregnant before they got married. But since they got married on Feb. 14th, and the baby was born in mid-November (a week early), it's only reasonable to think they became pregnant after getting married (right after).

Her mom gave Prince that tape - NOT her dad.
They were married on Valentine's Day in Minneapolis and NOT on the internet.
She was pregnant while they were married.

I bet, though, that Prince hit that before she was legal.

I had always heard that her mom gave the tape too but it says in quotes "My dad showed him a video of me dancing and Prince asked to meet me" meaning that is what Mayte said right? seems like maybe we'd just heard wrong all these years.
I dunno

Her mom gave Prince that tape - NOT her dad.
They were married on Valentine's Day in Minneapolis and NOT on the internet.
She was pregnant while they were married.

I bet, though, that Prince hit that before she was legal.

I had always heard that her mom gave the tape too but it says in quotes "My dad showed him a video of me dancing and Prince asked to meet me" meaning that is what Mayte said right? seems like maybe we'd just heard wrong all these years.
I dunno

Prince and mayte got married "live on the internet"...why have I never heard this before?

Because the interviewer made it up.

They got married on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14th) 1996 - it was hyped that they would get married in Paris, but they got married in Chanhassen instead. And most definitely not on the internet, although it was the same day that Prince's first website, The Dawn, was opened. The Dawn website included the wedding program (although perhaps not that day - I didn't see the site until the Summer).

Incidentally, the timing that the interviewer gives also assumes that Mayte was pregnant before they got married. But since they got married on Feb. 14th, and the baby was born in mid-November (a week early), it's only reasonable to think they became pregnant after getting married (right after).

oh, I thought the baby was several weeks early. Also, not sure, but wasn't the baby born in October? I always had the impression that Mayte was several weeks pg when she got married. I know it was fast! I got married the day before Prince and Mayte were married, and she got pg before me and I was pissed as hell. I gave my husband a lot of grief about it!

That was probably one of the most revealing (in an interesting and informative fashion) interview from an ex of Prince that I have read. She talks about their relationship in a very dignified way. Glad she is enjoying success.

They got married on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14th) 1996 - it was hyped that they would get married in Paris, but they got married in Chanhassen instead. And most definitely not on the internet, although it was the same day that Prince's first website, The Dawn, was opened. The Dawn website included the wedding program (although perhaps not that day - I didn't see the site until the Summer).

Incidentally, the timing that the interviewer gives also assumes that Mayte was pregnant before they got married. But since they got married on Feb. 14th, and the baby was born in mid-November (a week early), it's only reasonable to think they became pregnant after getting married (right after).

oh, I thought the baby was several weeks early. Also, not sure, but wasn't the baby born in October? I always had the impression that Mayte was several weeks pg when she got married. I know it was fast! I got married the day before Prince and Mayte were married, and she got pg before me and I was pissed as hell. I gave my husband a lot of grief about it!

I was about to start my post with something to the effect of 'She handled this interview very well'...but somehow you've just brought me to ' You gave your husband grief because Prince got his wife preganat before you and your man conceived..?????'

I was about to start my post with something to the effect of 'She handled this interview very well'...but somehow you've just brought me to ' You gave your husband grief because Prince got his wife preganat before you and your man conceived..?????'

I've never considered the Daily Mail to be a reliable source of info, but I can't think of any reason for them to make up or even twist her words. In fact, the whole thing comes across as very classy and believable (despite a few details that can be nitpicked). Thank you for posting it, prodigalfan!